WORT 89.9FM Madison · When Animals Dream

When Brian Standing’s dog, Luna, sleeps, she will often twitch and whimper as she slumbers. Her legs tense, her paws clench. Sometimes her tail will wag speedily, sometimes her lips curl back into a snarl. All of this while in a deep sleep. Most people observing this behavior would say “the dog is dreaming.” Neurologists, biologists and philosophers, however, have been surprisingly reluctant to affirm this common-sense notion, and for centuries have claimed that true dreaming is exclusively reserved for the homo sapiens species. In his new book, “When Animals Dream,” San Francisco State University philosopher David Peña-Guzman cites new evidence that suggests that a wide variety of animals dream. Dreaming, Guzman says, implies consciousness. And consciousness carries moral implications. David Peña-Guzman joined the Monday Buzz from Paris, France.

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